Modern Vespa

Hello everyone!

I am new here and have a question. I have had my vespa LX50 for over 8 years now and did about 10.000km on it. Recently I did a full engine clean and redo. However ever since a few weeks I have started to notice a grinding sound coming from the engine which is most apparent after 40km p/h.

What could this be?

I have already been to a guy that fixes scooters and he says that he does not hear anything out of the ordinary. I know though that this sound was not there before and it keeps getting louder (especially when there are 2 people on the scooter)

Do you hear grinding sound when you are revving it on centerstand ? Is the sound present all the time and gets louder with speed or while cornering ? Have you recently replaced the belt ?

You could try to locate the noise with someone by giving it some revs on centerstand and use eg. metal bar or screwdriver to conduct sound close to your ear from engine and variator.

I am not sure whether I hear the sound when revving on a center stand, however the sound is more apparent when the vespa is delivering a lot of power. think of 2 people on it going up a hill. the sound seems to be originating around the vario area and is also louder when taking right turns.

So grinding noise under load and while cornering right....Well I would then start from driven pully (clutch) bearings. 10 k is not much for those bearings, but if you ride a lot 2 up, it is possible. I suppose that after 8 years of riding you are able to hear the difference between normal and strange variator whining/grinding sound. Sometimes these sounds just come and go, but you shouldn`t let them get worse.

Thanks! will check it out!